Today's post will be on a product that I think falls under the radar (for the most part) within the beauty blogosphere: Becca's Sheer Lip Tints.

Now, these aren't your average lipsticks, in fact they're advertised as hydrating lip colours, that protect and nourish your lips. And with ingredients such as cocoa butter, shea butter, honey and vitamin E, they do just that: their moisturising properties are immediately noticeable once applied on the lips!

The texture of these lip tints is very lightweight, in fact I 'd say that they 're pretty much halfway between a lipstick and a lip balm. Of course, by biggest concern when ordering these, was that they weren't going to provide any coverage at all, knowing that they are sheer and moisturising lip products. Thankfully, that wasn't the case:

From what you can see on the photo above, they 're not as sheer as one would have thought and even though you can dab them on lightly, you can also get a lot more colour from a heavier application. I 'd say the coverage varies between sheer and medium, depending on the way you apply them on your lips.

Here's the lip swatches of the shades I went for (pretty safe choices, as usual):

- Estella is a beigey pink nude shade,- Gisella is a neutral dusty pink, perfect all around the clock,- Vendela is a lovely rose shade, and- Laelia is a light brick colour (the perfect balance between an orange and a brown).

Their finish, as shown on the swatches, is not frosty at all (none of them contains any shimmer btw), but not matte either: they leave your lips with a very subtle sheen, sophisticated enough to satisfy those that detest any hint of frost on their lips!Sadly, that subtle shine doesn't stay on for very long, the colour, however, would last on your lips for a good few hours (it passed my grilled cheese sandwich/water bottle test), without settling into those finer lines.

A couple more things worth mentioning are: a. the packaging: silver, sleek and heavy (nth like the...garish rouge volupte's), with a screw top that makes sure the lipstick won't accidentally open, and b. the pleasant scent, which is a mix of caramel, vanilla and cocoa butter.

Unfortunately, these products are not on the cheaper end of the spectrum (keep in mind that prices vary hugely from one e-tailer to another), but from my experience so far, they 're worth it!

Hope this post was of some help to someone (especially since the crappy swatches on the Becca website are more confusing than anything else)!

So, have you tried these sheer lip tints or any other sheer lip products/alternative to lipsticks?

Ok, it may be September already, but I figured I had some unfinished business with my summer related posts (namely in the nail polish department), that I shouldn't delay for any longer!

So, yep, this post will be about neon nail polish. But why neon, you may ask? And why now?

Well, as this summer has sadly come to its end, I realised that it's another summer in a row that neon nail polish was a huge trend in my country! Greek ladies definitely go all out as soon as its sandal season, with neon corals and neon pinks being the most favourable.Now, I don't know exactly why this seems to be going on for a few years now. It could be that neon colours make the skin appear more tanned (I mean, hello, if your eyes are blinded, you will naturally think everything else is darker) or they 're just chosen for the "wow" factor, but whatever the case may be, it's surely a great idea for a post!

So, here are a few neons in my collection:

1. GT Cosmetics No. 4. This is by a greek "drugstore" brand (I know that Color Club makes a similar shade if you 're looking for a dupe) that makes affordable neons. No. 4 is a basic neon coral, that's very hot for the summer months. Swatch is after 3 coats and could probably use a fourth - don't worry about drying time, each coat needs about 5 to 7 min to dry completely. What would be worth mentioning is that this dries to a weird semi-matte finish, not matte like most neons. It is however very fluorescent, so I 'd gladly overlook its minor flaws.

2. Essie Perky Purple. This was by far the hardest to photograph out of the bunch. In real life it's not as warm as on the nails, neither as cool as it appears in the bottle, it's somewhere inbetween. What I like about this is that it's a subtle neon, meaning it won't hurt your eyes and that you can wear it on other occasions (besides the...beach?) too. 3 coats, drying time was a few minutes for each coat, dries matte. And, oh yeah, it's limited edition (Essie Summer '09).

3. Essie Punchy Pink. Another LE (from that same collection), Punchy Pink is the hottest neon pink you can come across! I just love this one, and coming from someone that doesn't usually like pink nail polish, that must say something! 3 quick coats, same as Perky Purple.

4. Barry M Neon Green. Now, don't be fooled by its name, this one is not a neon in technical terms. It's shimmery for one. It also dries to an almost glossy finish. And ok, it is an obnoxiously bright green, but it's not really that fluorescent. However, being a Barry M nail polish, it's a pleasure to apply and lasts many days.

So, what do you think of neon nail polish?Any tricks for neon photography on a non slr camera?

And, is there a beauty trend in your country/town that has escaped the beauty blogging community? :)